2026-01-22
Meet Melanie
Q&A With Melanie Selwood, Greens SA Lead Candidate for the Legislative Council
Melanie Selwood is the Greens lead candidate for the Legislative Council in the South Australia state election this March. She is a campaigner, arts manager, mentor, community volunteer, business owner, project manager, and a former deputy mayor. Melanie talks about what brought her to the Greens movement, campaigning in SA and what gives her hope.
What drew you to being a part of the Greens? What has been the best part of being in the movement?
I first joined the Greens in NSW in 2004, when the Greens were the only party saying ‘no war’, the only party fighting against old growth logging and the only party standing up against Howard’s anti-refugee ‘stop the boats’ campaign. As the only party willing to take a principled, compassionate and potentially unpopular position on key issues, it was clear the Greens were the party for me.
As Greens, we stand together in solidarity against the power structures that are built to keep us quiet - that is a vital part of why we are here - and every year I am more encouraged by new people joining our movement who are willing to stand up to power and influence.
Whenever I meet someone who has stepped out of the societal paradigm to take a stand for something important to them, I feel that anything is possible - that’s the best part for me.
Why did you put your hand up to run?
In 2019, a bushfire ran through my hometown in the Adelaide Hills. We were lucky that our house was saved by our neighbour and the CFS, but over 80 of our neighbours and friends lost their houses, animals and farms.
Volunteering everyday in the community-run recovery centre after the fire, I came across cases of people who hadn’t been able to afford insurance, people who weren’t going to be able to afford to rebuild. The intersectionality of the impacts of climate change and furthering inequality were clear to me. I witnessed the value of connected communities, but also the harsh reality that our current systems are failing to protect us from the climate crisis, especially those most vulnerable.
Since then I’ve put my hand up for every opportunity to create systemic change.
I served as Deputy Mayor of Adelaide Hills Council where I worked with the community to get outcomes on cycling infrastructure, reducing waste, free period products, sustainable procurement and more. Having achieved these wins at Council, I’m ready to bring the fight to state parliament.
As someone who has seen first hand the devastating impacts of climate change and inequality, I am more determined than ever to be part of the change we so desperately need.
What’s been the best part of the campaign so far?
We have an excellent team of candidates at this election, and we’re hoping to break into the Lower House by winning the seat of Heysen. Our candidate, Genevieve Dawson-Scott and her team, have built a campaign that is full of energy and fun. The campaign for Heysen has built a community that will continue outside of election cycles. They support one another in their daily lives, and I’d love to see this model of family-friendly, community-based campaigning spread to other parts of our movement.
Across the rest of the state, we’ve seen teams move to really understand the value of community relationships and persuasive conversations - this is the best on the ground campaign that SA has ever run. When out doorknocking and having big conversations, it can be so powerful to see the moment when people recognise that Greens ideas can improve their lives.
It gives me energy to see so many people out there joining our campaign, being in the field, doing the deep relationship work, and building our movement.
How can people get involved in your campaign?
At this South Australian state election, we have an ambitious goal to win two upper house seats in the Legislative Council and the seat of Heysen in the lower house. This is the best opportunity we’ve had to grow our vote, and we’ll need all hands on deck to do it.
Supporting local campaigns is the most impactful way to get involved and there’s a job for everyone. There’s plenty to do - letterboxing, helping at stalls, organising events, data entry, and so much more. If you’d like to be involved, sign up here.
What would be your first priorities as MP?
There are so many big issues facing South Australia right now. Our ocean is suffering with a devastating algal bloom, we’re about to have nuclear submarines built in our backyard, and our government continues to subsidise fossil fuels.
We’ll undertake a state inquiry into AUKUS to highlight the impacts for South Australians, and to amplify the voices of the community.
I’ll introduce a bill to embed the wellbeing of future generations into our decision making. Based on the Welsh model, it acts like a duty of care to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural wellbeing for future generations.
We’ll continue to push Labor to act on climate change, including ending fossil fuel subsidies, stopping new gas expansions and getting off gas in our homes.
What gives you hope? and why?
New models of change-making give me hope. At Rising Tide in November, I really felt the energy of so many people who want to see positive change come together and do it with solidarity and a sense of joy. The activists are on the outside of the system trying to pull it down.
As Greens, we can be inside the system removing the pillars that hold it up. Using all the levers of change is how I see systemic change happening and that is what we desperately need.
The future of our party is bright, we have so many young people who bring passion, enthusiasm and a deeply held sense of what is just. We will be in good hands into the future and our movement will continue to grow and strengthen.